System and method for processing tax codes by company group

ABSTRACT

A system and method for assigning taxability codes to purchases, and processing tax invoices, by company groups. A user, identified to one of a group of companies, inputs a requisition. Tax code and tax location are identified in a front end process applicable to the object of the requisition and converted into a converted tax code and tax jurisdiction and fed to a back end processor. Responsive to converted tax code and the tax jurisdiction for the corresponding company group, the back end prepares a purchase order which is transmitted to a supplier. Responsive to an invoice from the supplier and company group and tax code indicia from the purchase order, the back end processes and selectively pays, short pays, or rejects the invoice.

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/816,264 filed Mar. 23, 2001 by S. B. Cirulli, etal., entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING TAX CODES BY COMPANYGROUP.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The following U.S. patent applications, filed concurrently or otherwisecopending, are assigned to the assignee hereof and contain subjectmatter related, in certain respect, to the subject matter of the presentapplication.

Ser. No. 09/657,215, filed 7 Sep. 2000, entitled “System and Method forClustering Servers for Performance and Load Balancing”;

Ser. No. 09/657,216, filed 7 Sep. 2000, entitled “System and Method forFront End Business Logic and Validation;

Ser. No. 09/657,217, filed 7 Sep. 2000, entitled “System and Method forData Transfer With Respect to External Applications”;

Ser. No. 09/656,037, filed 7 Sep. 2000, entitled “System and Method forProviding a Relational Database Backend;

Ser. No. 09/656,803, filed 7 Sep. 2000, entitled “System and Method forProviding a Role Table GUI via Company Group”;

Ser. No. 09/656,967, filed 7 Sep. 2000, entitled “System and Method forPopulating HTML Forms Using Relational Database Agents”;

Ser. No. 09/657,196, filed 7 Sep. 2000, entitled “System and Method forCatalog Administration Using Supplier Provided Flat Files”;

Ser. No. 09/657,195, filed 7 Sep. 2000, entitled “System and Method forProviding an Application Navigator Client Menu Side Bar”;

Ser. No. 09/819,462, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATING INVOICEPROCESSING WITH POSITIVE CONFIRMATION”;

Ser. No. 09/815,318, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING ACOMPANY GROUP USER PROFILE”;

Ser. No. 09/819,437, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SHARING DATA ACROSSFRAMES USING ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES”;

Ser. No. 09/815,317, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SYNCHRONIZINGLEDGER ACCOUNTS BY COMPANY GROUP”;

Ser. No. 09/815,320, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GROUPING COMPANIESACCORDING TO ACCOUNTING SYSTEM OR RULES”;

Ser. No. 09/815,316, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FRAME STORAGE OFEXECUTABLE CODE”;

Ser. No. 09/815,313, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INVOICE IMAGINGTHROUGH NEGATIVE CONFIRMATION PROCESS”;

Ser. No. 09/815,312, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LEVERAGINGPROCUREMENT ACROSS COMPANIES AND COMPANY GROUPS”; and

Ser. No. 09/798,598, filed 2 Mar. 2001, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORMANAGING INTERNET TRADING NETWORKS”.

The above-identified patent applications are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

This invention pertains to a system and method for processing tax codesby company group in a front-end processor to bridge to a back-endpurchasing system.

2. Background Art

When companies purchase goods, there are certain requirements fortaxation. Taxation requirements differ by county, city, state, countryand other locales, creating processing problems in paying those taxescorrectly. Most companies use tax packages to determine taxability,based on where the goods are shipped; however, this does not take intoaccount items that are purchased for research purposes or governmentcontracts, which are not taxable. In certain companies, the peopleordering the goods know the taxability and the shipping information, andcan determine the taxability at the time of the order, but they are notusually the ones who interface with the tax packages; this is usuallyleft to the Accounts Payable area.

There is a need in the art to provide an automated process for assigningtaxability codes to purchases by company groups, and to automaticallyadapt to those company groups the processing of tax payments.

There is a further need to provide in a front end for the assignment oftaxability codes, to thereby reduce the amount of work required on aback end process for resolving tax issues.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved system andmethod for processing tax payments.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a system and methodfor assigning taxability codes to purchases by company groups, and toautomatically adapt to those company groups the processing of taxpayments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a system and methodfor assigning taxability codes to purchases and processing tax invoices,the method including the steps of receiving from a user, identified bycompany indicia to one of a plurality of company groups, a purchaserequisition for a service or commodity object; responsive to the indiciaand object, determining in a front end process a tax code and taxlocation based on defined business rules; feeding the tax code and taxlocation code to a back end process; in the back end process, convertingthe tax code and tax location to a tax jurisdiction code with associatedtax rate and preparing a purchase order identified to the appropriatecompany group for transmittal.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer program product configured to be operable to assigningtaxability codes to purchases, and processing tax invoices, by companygroups.

Other features and advantages of this invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description of the presently preferredembodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a high level system diagram illustrating taxability processingfor a plurality of company groups in accordance with the preferredembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is schematic representation of a process for preparing taxabilityfor a purchase order in accordance with a scenario applicable to a firstcompany group.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a process for paying invoicesfor said first company group.

FIG. 4 is schematic representation of a process for preparing taxabilityfor a purchase order in accordance with a scenario applicable to asecond company group.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a process for paying invoicesfor said second company group.

FIG. 6 is schematic representation of a process for preparing taxabilityfor a purchase order in accordance with a scenario applicable to a thirdcompany group.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a process for paying invoicesfor said third company group.

FIG. 8 is a representation of a screen panel display for users requiredto select tax code and location.

FIG. 9 is a representation of a screen panel expansion of the taxindicator code of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a representation of a screen panel expansion of the taxlocation code of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 illustrates a purchase order detail screen which shows tax codeI1 which is a taxable code.

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen showing the tax jurisdiction code.

FIG. 13 illustrates an invoice verification screen showing a I1 tax codeand tax jurisdiction code of 33I000000 which have defaulted from thepurchase order.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In accordance with the preferred embodiments of the invention, a systemand method are provided for identifying specific tax jurisdiction codesand appropriate tax indicator codes by company groups, in a front-endprocurement system to bridge to a back-end purchasing system forappropriate processing. This provides a system and method for automatingthe process of configuring tax processing across multiple companies andgroups of associated companies.

Further in accordance with the invention, there is provided a system andmethod for assigning taxability codes to purchases, and processing taxinvoices, by company groups at the time of placing the order. A user,identified to one of a group of companies, inputs a requisition.Depending upon the user's company group and business processes, the usermay be required to select an appropriate tax code and tax location forthe goods to be purchased, or have it assigned automatically. Thiscapability is associated with individual line items, rather than theentire requisition. Certain companies may require the tax code to beassigned by a “tax approver,” who reviews the requisition items andassigns tax codes as appropriate. Tax code and tax location areidentified in a front end process applicable to the object of therequisition and converted into a converted tax code and tax jurisdictionand fed to a back end processor. Responsive to converted tax code andthe tax jurisdiction for the corresponding company group, the back endprepares a purchase order which is transmitted to a supplier. Responsiveto an invoice from the supplier and company group and tax code indiciafrom the purchase order, the back end processes and selectively pays,short pays, or rejects the invoice.

Referring to FIGS. 2 through 7, an exemplary embodiment illustratingthree tax processing scenarios on behalf of three different companygroups is presented. In the first scenario (FIGS. 2 and 3), a usercreating a requisition is involved in selecting the taxability. In thesecond scenario (FIGS. 4 and 5), taxability is determined based on thecommodity being purchased. And in the third scenario (FIGS. 6 and 7),taxability is determined based on the commodity being purchased and thepurchasing ship to location. Which scenario is executed is determined bythe company code assigned to the user creating the requisition.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system and process flow diagram is provided whichdraws together in one overview the three systems illustrated in FIGS.2-7.

In step 201, a user logs on to the Requisition and Catalog application(Req/Cat). His user profile determines the company group.

In step 203, users in group A use the tax process shown in FIG. 2. Instep 205, users in group B use the tax process of FIG. 4. In step 207,users in group C use the tax process of FIG. 6.

In step 209, a Req/Cat requisition is created.

In step 211, the Req/Cat requisition is bridged to SAP, with the taxcode and tax location sent to SAP. The tax location code is converted toa SAP tax jurisdiction code by the bridge. SAP is an acronym (derivedfrom a German language phrase) which refers to an enterprise resourceplanning system, including an accounting application having an accountspayable function.

In step 213, the SAP requisition is created, and the tax information isstored in a requisition table.

In step 215, the purchase order is created using tax information fromthe requisition table.

In step 217, the invoice is received from the supplier.

In step 219, invoices for companies in group A are processed as shown inFIG. 3. In step 221, invoices for companies in group B are processed asshown in FIG. 5. In step 223, invoices for companies in group C areprocessed as shown in FIG. 7.

User profiles contain a default tax location code for the user. This isderived from the user's plant code (a plant has an associated taxlocation code, based on its address). A user can edit his profile at anytime and change this default tax location code.

When a user logs onto the front-end, he is associated with a userprofile that has what company group and company he is in. (There is afeed from the HR system with this information, that guarantees the useris in the correct company group, as is more fully described in copendingapplication Ser. No. 09/815,318.) The business logic in the front-endthen determines how much information the user must enter for taxes,based on his company group. In some cases; the user sees nothing—thesystem defaults to a tax code and location. In another company group,the user must select both. And in another, the user doesn't seeanything—the tax approver must determine these fields.

FIG. 8 illustrates the display panel presented at the line item level toa user who is required to select tax code and tax location.

FIG. 9 represents the expansion of the “tax indicator code” of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 illustrates the expansion of the “tax location code” of FIG. 8,and displays the list of tax location codes appropriate for the user'scompany.

Referring to FIG. 2, in accordance with the first scenario of thisexemplary embodiment of the invention, a requester or user at the lineitem level in Req/Cat 110 determines taxability. There are two fields inReq/Cat 110 to make a tax determination.

First is the tax code field 112. The field tax code 112 defaults withthe value “taxable”. However, the user may choose a non taxable reasonfor the purchase from a drop down list 108 with which, as is representedby line 107, to override the default entry to tax code 112. In thisembodiment, by way of example, tax codes available for user selection inlist 108 include the following: I1 Taxable N1 Nontaxable - Resale N2Nontaxable - Manufacturing N3 Nontaxable - Research & Development N4Nontaxable - Capital Improvement N5 Nontaxable - Service N6 Nontaxable -Other

Second is the tax location field 114. As is represented by line 103 toline item selection 106 in user requisition interface 104, the field taxcode 112 defaults in user profile 102 to the company location code 100.Location code 100 can be changed by user actuation at selection 106according to the desired point for shipment of the goods, and asrepresented by line 105 this selection is fed to tax location field 114in Req/Cat application 110.

The tax code 112 and tax location 114 are fed, as is represented bylines 109 and 111, respectively, to SAP requisition table 116. As isrepresented by line 115, the tax location field 120 is converted to aSAP tax jurisdiction code field 122. The tax code 118 and taxjurisdiction 122 for a given requisition 113 line in table 116 are usedwhen the purchase order is created from the requisition. The tax code118 and jurisdiction code 122 combination is maintained in SAP via aFTXP transaction. A periodic update spreadsheet is provide by thecompany to maintain the tax rates in table 126. A SAP purchase ordercontains the tax code 118 and tax jurisdiction code 122 as these aredetermined in Req/Cat 110. The purchase order output 124 contains a taxcode 118 description, a jurisdiction code 122 description and the taxrate from table 126 corresponding to tax jurisdiction 122.

The tax code and tax location code from the front-end are passed to theback-end and stored in a table for each requisition line item. The3-position tax location from the front-end is converted to a 9-digit taxjurisdiction code. For example, tax location 33F in the front-end isconverted to tax jurisdiction 33F000000. Each tax code (ie I1, N1, N2 .. . etc) is maintained with each tax jurisdiction (ie 33I000000,33F000000 . . . ) to arrive at a rate in the back-end. The tax code andtax jurisdiction for the given requisition line is used when thepurchase order is created from the requisition. A monthly updatespreadsheet is provided by the companies to maintain the rates. Thepurchase order contains the tax code/tax jurisdiction code as wasdetermined in the front-end. The purchase order output contains the taxcode description, the jurisdiction code description and the tax rate.

Referring to FIG. 3, purchase order 124 is sent to supplier 130 whofills the order and, as is represented by line 135, submits an invoice132 for payment. As is represented by lines 133, 137 and 139, invoice132 and purchase order 124 are utilized in an accounts payable process134 and, as is represented by line 145, payment remitted back tosupplier 130. The tax code 138 is obtained from purchase order 124, andthe tax 140 amount invoiced is obtained from invoice 132 and utilized,as is represented by line 142, to determine processing subsequent toreceipt of invoice 132.

At step 142, when purchase order 124 contains a non-taxable code 138 andinvoice 132 contains no tax 140, the invoice is paid as presented by thesupplier 130.

At step 144, when purchase order 133 contains a non-taxable code 138 andinvoice 132 invoices tax 140, the invoice is short paid. That is, theinvoiced amount less the tax is paid to the supplier, and as isrepresented by line 141 the supplier is notified via payment advice textthat the invoice is paid short the tax.

At step 146, when purchase order 133 contains a taxable code 138 andinvoice 132 contains tax 140, the invoice is paid as presented bysupplier 130, and any warning messages from SAP that a different rate oramount was calculated from tax rates table 126 are ignored.

At step 148, when purchase order 133 contains a taxable code 138 andinvoice 132 does not contain tax 140, the invoice is paid as presentedby supplier 130. As is represented by line 143, the accounts payablerepresentative, in this case, in step 150 will selected in the invoiceverification procedure a calculate tax routine (such as by clicking on atax calculation button in the invoice verification window), changing thetax code to UI in an invoice detail screen. In step 152, SAP will thencalculate the tax, charging the expense account and crediting the taxaccount.

FIG. 11 illustrates a purchase order detail screen which shows tax codeI1 which is a taxable code.

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen showing the tax jurisdiction code.

FIG. 13 illustrates an invoice verification screen showing a I1 tax codeand a tax jurisdiction code of 33I000000 which have defaulted from thepurchase order.

Referring to FIG. 4, in accordance with the second scenario of thisexemplary embodiment of the invention, the user (or requester, theindividual preparing or requesting preparation of a purchase order) isnot involved in tax determination. Rather, tax determination is derivedfrom the general ledger account for the item being purchased, and a taxdepartment review is required for those buys of items for which the taxcode 112 is X or blank.

The tax code for each general ledger (G/L) account is maintained invalidation table 162 for companies in this company group 160. Tax codes112 for this scenario are as follows: A Taxable (other) B Taxable(repair and replace) C Taxable (reduced rate) D Taxable (computerservices) N Not taxable (other) R Not taxable (resale) X Either taxableor non taxable “” (Blank) either taxable or non taxableAn X or blank means that the tax determination cannot be madeautomatically. In this case, the requisition is sent for managementapproval and then held pending a review and determination of the correcttax code by the tax department.

—A user from company 160 has a default tax location entered in his userprofile 102 which will be displayed in line item tax location selectionfield 106 at interface 104 when requesting a purchase. The user maychange the value for tax location. As is represented by line 105, thedefault or user selected tax location is entered to tax location field114 in Req/Cat 110. However, tax code fields are hidden, or shown asnon-changeable, at user requisition interface 104 for users in allcompanies in company group 160. In the tax department, this tax code isviewable and changeable by the tax approver. —.

Determination of the tax rate for a given object is determined by taxcode 112 and tax location 114. Within Req/Cat 110, as is represented byline 167, tax location 114 is converted to tax jurisdiction 122 andstored in requisition table 116. As is represented by line 161, tax code112 goes through a requisition approval process 164 which, in the eventof an X or blank code 112 requires in steps 166 and 168 tax departmentreview and determination of the applicable tax code.

Bridging from Req/Cat 110 to SAP 116 is then done. In step 170, theresulting tax code is converted to a SAP tax code and, as represented byline 165, stored in converted tax code field 174 in requisition table116. In the event that in step 168 it is determined that the intendedsupplier is not registered to collect tax, the tax is accrued to thestate (tax jurisdiction). Tax code conversion step 170 may be executedwith respect to a tax code conversion table, such as is illustrated inTable 1. TABLE 1 TAX CODE CONVERSION TABLE Converted Tax Code 112 TaxCode 174 Description A A1 Taxable - Other B B1 Taxable - Repair &Replace C C1 Taxable - Reduced Rate D D1 Taxable - Computer Services EE2 Taxable F F1 Taxable G G1 Taxable H H1 Taxable N E1 Non Taxable -Other R S1 Non Taxable - Resale (may be out of scope)Note:if X or “” (blank) code, then fail in SAP.As is represented by lines 119, 121 and 169, the purchase order 124 iscreated by line item from converted tax code 174, tax jurisdiction 122,and tax rate tables 126. An example output purchase order 124 may read:“I1 Taxable, Item subject to Tax CT—Connecticut 6%”.

Referring to FIG. 5, for this second tax processing scenario, accountspayable process 134 will pay invoice 132 as provided by supplier 130 instep 202 when tax code 138 is taxable and tax is invoiced, in step 204when tax code 138 is not taxable and no tax is invoiced, in step 206when tax code 138 is taxable and no tax is invoiced, and in step 212when tax code 138 indicates a tax rate less than the rate invoiced. Instep 214, the company accrues and pays the tax directly. Accountspayable process 134 will short pay the invoice when, in step 208, taxcode 138 is not taxable and tax is invoiced, and in step 210 when taxcode 138 indicates that the tax rate is less than the tax invoiced 140.

Referring to FIG. 6, in accordance with the third scenario of thisexemplary embodiment of the invention, tax determination is made withreference to the commodity being purchased and the purchasing location(that is, the ship to location). In this process, the tax code isderived based on the general ledger account for the commodity or servicebeing purchased, and the requester is allowed to enter the tax locationcode. The combination of tax code and tax location is then validated,and the cost center being charged is verified as a taxable cost center.

A company taxability table 180 is maintained for all companies in thiscompany group which includes, for each general ledger account 182, theappropriate tax code 184 and tax ship to location 186. Table 2illustrates a sample primary taxability table 180. TABLE 2 SAMPLECOMPANY GROUP TAXABILITY TABLE 180 G/L Account 182 Tax Location CT1 TaxLocation CT2 021500000 A1 E1 017400000 B1 ABIn this example, when a purchase is made using G/L account 021500000 andthe requestor's tax ship to location is CT2, then the tax code E1 andtax location CT2 would be populated to Req/Cat 110 field 112 and 114,respectively. The combination of this tax code 184 and tax location 186drive the taxability of the requisition line item 192. The tax code ofAB in Table 2 represents that the taxable other code is applicable butother factors could make the purchase non-taxable. In that case, asecondary taxability check 196 needs to be performed.

In the example of Table 2, the tax codes 184 used for each tax location186 code are as follows: A1 Taxable - Other AB Could be either nontaxable or taxable B1 Taxable - Repair and replace BB Could be eithernon taxable or taxable C1 Taxable - Reduced rate CB Could be either nontaxable or taxable D1 Taxable - Computer services DB Could be either nontaxable or taxable E1 Non taxable - Other S1 Non taxable - Resale T1 Taxincluded “” Route to tax approver to have tax code assignedWhen condition *B is encountered in primary taxability table 180,secondary check routine 196 is Req/Cat 110 will need to look at the costcenter type 194 (also derived from table 180) to determine taxability.

User requisition interface 104 is initialized with a default ship tolocation from user profile 102 in field 188, which the user may acceptor change. As is represented by lines 181 and 185, the tax ship tolocation selected or accepted is fed to Req/Cat 110 tax location field114. At user requisition interface 104, the user selects from an itemdescription and general ledger account pull down panel 190, the generalledger account number 182 for the desired purchase, and this is used toaccess table 180 to obtain the corresponding tax code which is then fed,as is represented by line 183, to tax code field 112 in Req/Cat 110. Asin the preceding scenarios, tax code 112 and tax location 114 areconverted and fed to requisition table 116, from which purchase order124 is created.

A secondary taxability check is provided in this scenario to furtherdefine taxability. When the tax code 184 found in primary taxabilitytable 180 ends with a B, for example, routine 196 determines taxabilityfrom the cost center type 194 contained in the requisition line item.

Referring to FIG. 7, for this third scenario, accounts payable process134 executes with respect to invoice 132 received from supplier 130against purchase order 124 as follows. The invoice 132 is paid asinvoiced when, in step 220 it is determined that tax code 138 frompurchase order 124 is taxable and tax 140 is invoiced; in step 222 whentax code 138 is not taxable and tax 140 is not invoiced; in steps 230and 232 when tax code 138 indicates a tax rate which is within toleranceof the tax 140 invoiced; and in step 236 when tax code 138 is taxableand invoice 132 includes a tax included code 140. In step 224, when taxcode 138 is taxable and no tax 140 is invoiced, the invoice is paid asprovided by the supplier but the full tax amount is accrued. In step226, when tax code 138 is not taxable and tax 140 is invoiced, or instep 228 when the tax 140 invoiced is more than a tolerance amount overthe tax code 138, the invoice is short paid (that is, paid at theinvoiced total amount less the tax or tax discrepancy, respectively). Instep 234, the invoice is returned unpaid to the supplier 130 when tax140 invoiced exceeds by some tolerance that rate applicable to tax code138.

ADVANTAGES OVER THE PRIOR ART

It is an advantage of the invention that there is provided an improvedsystem and method for processing tax payments.

It is a further advantage of the invention that there is provided asystem and method for assigning taxability codes to purchases by companygroups, and to automatically adapt to those company groups theprocessing of tax payments.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

It will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of theinvention have been described herein for purposes of illustration,various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. In particular, it is within the scope of theinvention to provide a computer program product or program element, or aprogram storage or memory device such as a solid or fluid transmissionmedium, magnetic or optical wire, tape or disc, or the like, for storingsignals readable by a machine, for controlling the operation of acomputer according to the method of the invention and/or to structureits components in accordance with the system of the invention.

Further, each step of the method may be executed on any generalcomputer, such as an IBM System 390, AS/400, PC or the like and pursuantto one or more, or a part of one or more, program elements, modules orobjects generated from any programming language, such as C++, Java,Pl/1, Fortran or the like. And still further, each said step, or a fileor object or the like implementing each said step, may be executed byspecial purpose hardware or a circuit module designed for that purpose.

Accordingly, the scope of protection of this invention is limited onlyby the following claims and their equivalents.

1-12. (canceled)
 13. A method for assigning taxability codes topurchases and processing tax invoices, comprising the steps of:receiving from a user, identified by company indicia to one of aplurality of company groups including at least a first company group anda second company group a purchase requisition selectively for at leastone of a service and commodity line-item object; responsive to saidindicia and said line-item object, determining a tax code and taxlocation based on defined business rules with said tax code selectivelyrepresenting a line item as being one of a plurality of taxable,non-taxable, and undetermined tax codes and said tax location codeselectively representing a default company location code and a ship-tolocation code for said line item; converting said tax code and taxlocation to a tax jurisdiction code with associated tax rate; preparinga purchase order identified to said one of said plurality of companygroups for transmittal to a supplier of said object; processing saidpurchase requisition for a user identified by company code to said firstcompany group according to a first scenario in which a user creating arequisition selects taxability by selecting said tax code and said taxlocation code; processing said purchase requisitions for a useridentified by company code to said second company group according to asecond scenario in which taxability is determined based on commoditypurchased and purchasing ship-to location; processing a first invoicesubmitted pursuant to said first scenario by paying said first invoiceas presented when said purchase requisition contains a non-taxable codeand said first invoice invoices no tax and when said purchaserequisition contains a taxable code and said first invoice invoices tax;by short paying said first invoice when said purchase requisitioncontains a non-taxable code and said first invoice invoices tax; and bypaying said first invoice as presented and crediting a tax account fortax when said purchase requisition contains a taxable code and saidfirst invoice invoices no tax; and processing a second invoice submittedpursuant to said second scenario by paying said second invoice aspresented when said purchase requisition contains a non-taxable code andsaid second invoice invoices no tax, and when said purchase requisitioncontains a taxable code and said second invoice invoices tax; by shortpaying said second invoice when said purchase requisition contains anon-taxable code and said second invoice invoices tax and when saidpurchase requisition contains a taxable code at a first tax rate andsaid second invoice invoices tax a tax rate more than said first taxrate; by paying said second invoice as presented when said purchaserequisition contains a taxable code at a second tax rate and said secondinvoice invoices tax at a tax rate within tolerance of said second taxrate; by paying said second invoice as presented and crediting a taxaccount when said purchase requisition contains a taxable code and saidsecond invoice invoices no tax.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising the steps of: receiving an invoice from said supplier, saidinvoice selectively including a tax field; responsive to said tax field,and to said company group and tax code indicia from said purchase order,processing said invoice and said tax field to selectively pay, shortpay, or reject said invoice.
 15. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising the step of: pursuant to said first scenario, receiving fromsaid user tax code indicia and tax location indicia, thereby involvingsaid user in defining taxability for said object based on definedbusiness rules.
 16. The method of claim 13, further comprising the stepsof: pursuant to said second scenario, providing for each prospectiveobject, a corresponding tax code.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising the steps of: pursuant to said second scenario, maintainingin a taxability table for each general ledger account a correspondingtax ship to location; responsive to user selection of said object,obtaining from said taxability table said tax code and said tax ship tolocation; and defining taxability for said object in said requisitionwith reference to said corresponding tax code and tax ship to location.18. A system for assigning taxability codes to line-item purchases andprocessing tax invoices, comprising: a user requisition interface forreceiving from a user, identified by company indicia to one of aplurality of company groups including at least a first company group anda second company group a purchase requisition for a service or commodityline-item object; a processor; said processor being responsive to saidindicia and said line-item object for determining a tax code and taxlocation code, and for converting said tax code into a converted taxcode and said tax location code into a tax jurisdiction for eachline-item object of said tax invoice, said tax code selectivelyrepresenting a line item as being one of a plurality of taxable,non-taxable, and undetermined tax codes and said tax location codeselectively representing a company location code and a ship-to locationcode for said line item; said processor processing said purchaserequisition for a user identified by company code to said first companygroup according to a first scenario in which a user creating arequisition selects taxability by selecting said tax code and said taxlocation code; said processor processing said purchase requisitions fora user identified by company code to said second company group accordingto a second scenario in which taxability is determined based oncommodity purchased and purchasing ship-to location; said processorbeing responsive to said converted tax code, said tax jurisdiction, saidpreparing and said company indicia for preparing a purchase orderidentified to said one of said plurality of company groups fortransmittal to a supplier of said object.
 19. The system of claim 18,further comprising: said processor being responsive to an invoice fromsaid supplier selectively including a tax field and to said companygroup and tax code indicia from said purchase order for processing saidinvoice and said tax field to selectively pay, short pay, or reject saidinvoice.
 20. The system of claim 18, further comprising: said processorreceiving from said user tax code indicia and tax location indicia,thereby involving said user in defining taxability for said object. 21.The system of claim 18, further comprising: a data store for providingfor each prospective object, a corresponding tax code; and saidprocessor further defining taxability for said object in saidrequisition with reference to said corresponding tax code and said taxlocation.
 22. The system of claim 18, further comprising: a taxabilitytable for storing for each general ledger account a corresponding taxcode and tax ship to location; said processor further responsive to userselection of said object for obtaining from said taxability table saidtax code and said tax location and for defining taxability for saidobject in said requisition with reference to said corresponding tax codeand tax ship to location.
 23. A program storage device readable by amachine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by amachine to perform method steps for assigning taxability codes topurchases and processing tax invoices, said method steps comprising:receiving from a user, identified by company indicia to one of aplurality of company groups including at least a first company group anda second company group, a purchase requisition selectively for at leastone of a service and commodity line-item object; responsive to saidindicia and said line-item object, determining a tax code and taxlocation code, said tax code selectively representing a line item asbeing one of a plurality of taxable, non-taxable, and undetermined taxcodes and said tax location code selectively representing a companylocation code and a ship-to location code for said line item; convertingsaid tax code into a converted tax code and said tax location into a taxjurisdiction; preparing a purchase order identified to said one of saidplurality of company groups for transmittal to a supplier of saidline-item object; processing said purchase requisition for a useridentified by company code to said first company group according to afirst scenario in which a user creating a requisition selects taxabilityby selecting said tax code and said tax location code; processing saidpurchase requisitions for a user identified by company code to saidsecond company group according to a second scenario in which taxabilityis determined based on commodity purchased and purchasing ship-tolocation; processing a first invoice submitted pursuant to said firstscenario by paying said first invoice as presented when said purchaserequisition contains a non-taxable code and said first invoice invoicesno tax and when said purchase requisition contains a taxable code andsaid first invoice invoices tax; by short paying said first invoice whensaid purchase requisition contains a non-taxable code and said firstinvoice invoices tax; and by paying said first invoice as presented andcrediting a tax account for tax when said purchase requisition containsa taxable code and said first invoice invoices no tax; and processing asecond invoice submitted pursuant to said second scenario by paying saidsecond invoice as presented when said purchase requisition contains anon-taxable code and said second invoice invoices no tax, and when saidpurchase requisition contains a taxable code and said second invoiceinvoices tax; by short paying said second invoice when said purchaserequisition contains a non-taxable code and said second invoice invoicestax and when said purchase requisition contains a taxable code at afirst tax rate and said second invoice invoices tax a tax rate more thansaid first tax rate; by paying said second invoice as presented whensaid purchase requisition contains a taxable code at a second tax rateand said second invoice invoices tax at a tax rate within tolerance ofsaid second tax rate; by paying said second invoice as presented andcrediting a tax account when said purchase requisition contains ataxable code and said second invoice invoices no tax.
 24. A computerprogram product for assigning taxability codes to purchases andprocessing tax invoices comprising: a computer readable medium; firstprogram instructions for receiving from a user, identified by companyindicia to one of a plurality of company groups including at least afirst company group and a second company group a purchase requisitionincluding at least one line item for a service or commodity line-itemobject; second program instructions, responsive to said indicia and saidobject, for determining a tax code and tax location code for each saidline item object said tax code selectively representing a line item asbeing one of a plurality of taxable, non-taxable, and undetermined taxcodes and said tax location code selectively representing a companylocation code and a ship-to location code for said line item; thirdprogram instructions for converting said tax code into a converted taxcode and said tax location code into a tax jurisdiction code; fourthprogram instructions for preparing a purchase order identified to saidone of said plurality of company groups for transmittal to a supplier ofsaid object; fifth program instructions for processing said purchaserequisition for a user identified by company code to said first companygroup according to a first scenario in which a user creating arequisition selects taxability by selecting said tax code and said taxlocation code; sixth program instructions for processing said purchaserequisitions for a user identified by company code to said secondcompany group according to a second scenario in which taxability isdetermined based on commodity purchased and purchasing ship-to location;and wherein said first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, programinstructions are recorded on said computer readable medium.